The Past, the Future, and In Between
by Chimeras-star
Summary: When Maggie arrives back in Mt Thomas, Jo, pregnant and confused, has to make a decision. Complete
1. Default Chapter

_Just before you read, i would like to say a BIG thankyou to Elle. She sorta gave me the confidence to post this, and she edited it and the ending was her idea, so the fic is dedicated to her. Thanks, Mate. You're a champ._

Disclaimer: Dont own, dont make money, dont sue.

**The past, the present, and in between.**

Joanna Parrish drove back into Mt Thomas with a heavy heart. It hadn't been her choice to come back to her old hometown, but as her father still called the area home, she had decided to come visit him occasionally.

It wasn't as though life had been bad for her in Mt. Thomas. Quite the opposite in fact, but all good things come to an end, as she had discovered almost a year ago. Nine and a half months to be exact.

She glanced back at the sleeping baby in the back seat of the car. PJ had never wanted kids. Well, no, that wasn't quite true. He hadn't wanted them with her. He'd wanted them with Maggie.

Jo sighed as she pulled into her father's driveway. Helena, her daughter, had been born three months before, and Jo just thanked the gods that she wasn't a fussy baby. She slept most of the day and only cried when she was hungry, so she managed to do the single mum thing with out too many hassles. Still, she wished that she could give Lena a chance to know her father. PJ's name wasn't even on her birth certificate, as Jo hadn't been able to face telling her parents who Lena's father was.

Glancing around, she got out of the car and stretched. She'd just got off a 4½ hour flight from Darwin, to spend two nights with her father for his birthday. Her brother, Cameron, was already there, and he came out of her dad's house, smiling, to greet her.

Cameron had been a lifesaver for Jo. When the universe had transpired to turn her world upside down, he'd supported her all the way through, and she knew that she would've burnt out long before now if he hadn't gone out on a limb to help her. Looking back, she couldn't say that she regretted anything. She wished that things had turned out differently, but she had no regrets. So she smiled back at her brother, handed him her sleeping daughter, and followed him inside.


	2. Chapter 2

  
  
** 9 ½ months earlier.**

Thoughts were whirling around Jo's head at a million miles per hour. She'd just come home after a doctor's appointment to find out the test results that she'd had done three days before. Only one had come back positive. She was 10 weeks pregnant.

The rain poured down outside and sitting curled up and alone on the couch in the dark, Jo was glad that PJ and Ben had gone down to the pub. She'd declined, pleading that she didn't feel well and thought it was the flu. She didn't really know what to tell PJ. She loved him deeply, and she knew that he loved her, but he wasn't ready for a baby. For that matter, she wasn't sure she was ready for a child. She knew that she wanted kids eventually, and she knew that she wanted them with PJ, but she couldn't get the definite 'No' of PJ's out of her head when she'd once asked him if he wanted kids.

She sighed and laid her head in her hand, allowing herself to drift off to a light sleep. A short time later, she was woken by soft voices in the hall.

"Hey. How are you feeling?" PJ asked softly.

She smiled. "Okay. Where's Ben?" She yawned.

"Right here." Ben smiled at her as he wandered past. "I'm stuffed. I'm going to bed." He said.

Jo nodded. "Goodnight." She got up off the couch and headed to the bedroom she shared with PJ.

"I'm asleep on my feet." She muttered to him as she got changed into her pajamas. He smiled.

"Tired, huh?" She nodded and slid into bed. "Mmm."

He turned out the light and slid in next to her, wrapping an arm around her waist. "Love you." He said.

She smiled sleepily. "Love you too."

The next afternoon Jo was alone at the station except for Jonesy. It wasn't often that she was the highest ranked officer in charge of the station, but it was the Boss's day off, PJ was at St Davids for the afternoon and Ben had taken Susie out on patrol.

"Oi. You want a doughnut?" Jonesy threw a paper plane in Jo's direction, smiling as it landed down her collar. "Bulls eye!"

She raised an eyebrow at him and plucked the plane out of her collar. "No thanks, Jonesy. But if you want one I wont tell the Boss." She threw it back and grinned at his expression of incredulity as it did a perfect loop- de-loop and landed on his desk.

"Well. You're a woman of hidden talents, Joanna. A natural at pool, darts, and now I find that you know how to throw a paper plane. But I bet you can't make one."

She grinned. "Challenge accepted." She said, turning to grab a blank piece of paper from the printer. Quickly folding it, she made a swoop-dart and turned and pitched it at him, laughing out loud when it hit him straight between the eyes.

"Alright, spill. How did you learn how to make that?" Jonesy was put out.

She grinned. "I have an extremely annoying older brother, who was impossible to beat unless you played dirty."

Jonesy nodded. "Ahh. Little Sister Syndrome." He grinned. "I didn't know you had a brother." He shook his head. "Ah well. That just means I don't have to hold back on you. You're used to it."

"Really?" She said smiling.

He nodded. "Yep." Jo rolled her eyes and turned away from Jonesy to answer the phone, which was closer to her. Engrossed in trying to calm down the elderly woman on the other end who was convinced that aliens had landed on her house, she didn't hear the blonde woman walk nervously in the front door of the station and over to the counter.

"Excuse me?" The woman said quietly. Jonesy got up from pestering Jo and walked over to the counter smiling.

"Hi, how can I help you?" He asked her.

"Um...Is that Jo?" The woman asked, pointing to where Jo had her back to them on the phone. Jonesy nodded.

"Yeah, are you a friend of hers?" He asked, looking at her closely. She was slightly familiar to him, but he was sure he'd never met her before. The woman smiled sadly.

"You could say that." She looked around the station. "It hasn't changed much." She commented more to herself than to him. Jonesy looked at her quizzically, but she'd turned her gaze back on Jo.

"Jonesy, can you radio Ben and Susie? Mrs. Edgers seems to think that aliens are invading her roof." Jo said, putting down the phone and turning around. Jonesy quirked an eyebrow.

"Again?" He said chuckling. "That's twice in three days." He walked over to the CB and put the message through to Ben and Susie.

Jo nodded. "I know." She swung her gaze from him to the woman on the other side of the counter, stopping in shock as she recognized her.

"Wholly Fuck." Jonesy turned away from the radio in shock at Jo's outburst.

"Joanna!" He said staring at her. "You cant say that here!" Jo was staring at the blonde woman like she'd seen a ghost.

"Hi, Jo." The blonde woman didn't look surprised at Jo's reaction to her presence at all. Instead, she simply looked sad. She walked around the counter and over to Jo.

"Maggie?...No...You're dead...You left..." Jo's eyes sparkled with unshed tears and she almost choked on her words. Jonesy looked extremely confused, and moved towards Jo protectively, putting an arm around her waist. Jo leaned into Jonesy and closed her eyes and then re-opened them, half- expecting Maggie to be gone. But she wasn't. She was still standing in front of Jo, looking upset.

"I'm not dead, Jo. I went back into 'witness'." She said, reaching out a hand. "It was all fake. Me being shot by Mick and Mick being shot by Dad? It was set up. I've been in London since then." Jonesy was lost for words. He had no idea what was gong on. Jo stared at Maggie for about ten seconds before suddenly bursting into tears and wrapping her arms around Maggie, hugging her tightly. After a minute, they separated, and both had tears running down their cheeks. They stared at each other for a minute before Maggie spoke.

"So is this your boyfriend, then?" She asked Jo, looking at Jonesy and sniffing. Both Jo and Jonesy's eyebrows shot up, and Jonesy started to speak.

"No, she's with..." Jo cut him off.

"No. This is Jonesy. He's just over-protective, like everyone else in this station." She said, wiping her eyes. Maggie nodded.

"Guys get that way, huh?" Jo nodded.

"Baise un canard! They're unbelievable." Maggie started laughing, and drew Jo into another hug.

"Admettons! You haven't changed at all. But since when have you been able to speak French?" She asked, smiling. Jo chuckled.

"I've always been able to. I have a Uncle who married a Frenchwoman and a whole lot of cousins who doesn't speak English." She grinned at Maggie. Jonesy stared at them.

"Jo what the hell is going on? And why are you speaking French?" Jo looked at him, sobering.

"I'm sorry, Jonesy. This is Maggie Doyle. She was the Sargent before Tess and she died...sort of...but not." She glanced at Maggie, who smiled faintly. Jonesy finally understood.

"I heard about you from Chris." He said. "You're a bit of a legend round these parts."

Jo nodded. "And I was speaking French because you told me off for swearing in English."

Jonesy looked at Maggie. "What'd she say?" Maggie laughed again and raised an eyebrow, silently asking Jo, who shrugged. "As far as my limited French goes, I think she said fuck a duck." Maggie said chuckling. "I don't think she likes the over protectiveness."

Jonesy stared at Jo. "I should've known better than to ask." He said, amused. "Since when do I over protect you?" He asked.

"Since Tess left." She said looking back to Maggie. "I can't believe its you." She said quietly as tears began to form in her eyes again.

Maggie nodded, understanding. "I know how you feel." She said.

"I missed you." Jo whispered. Maggie drew her back into another hug, as Jonesy stood there feeling as if he'd just witnessed a miracle.

An hour later, Maggie had just finished explaining everything that had happened to her and her family in the time that had elapsed since her 'murder'. Jo had calmed down considerably and Jonesy was in awe at her willing acceptance of Maggie back into her life. He was aware that Maggie had been engaged to PJ at the time of her 'death' and it had occurred to him, and he was sure it had occurred to Jo, that Maggie was probably back for PJ. But yet, Jo hadn't laid any claim on PJ, or even told Maggie that they were living together or in any kind of relationship. Instead, Jo talked about him as if he was dating Maggie as opposed to her. Jonesy couldn't quite figure that out. Surely Jo wouldn't just let Maggie see PJ without letting her know the deal. He sneaked a glance at Jo, who was wearing an expression he'd never seen before, and he worried. He had a feeling that he knew what was running through her head, and he didn't like it.

"She's NOT insane! She's just a lonely old woman. You can't charge her for that."

"I don't care, Susie! She locked me in her cupboard!" Ben and Susie came in from patrol talking animatedly. Susie came into view first, rolling her eyes. "Hey." She nodded at Jo, raised an eyebrow at Jonesy, and smiled at Maggie.

Ben followed her in and caught sight of Maggie. "No fucking way." He said, staring.

Jonesy chuckled. "I can't wait until the Boss sees you." He said to Maggie.

She smiled. "He doesn't swear."

"He might." Jonesy remained hopeful.

Jo stood and walked over to Ben. "Sit down before you pass out." She said, guiding him to the chair she'd just vacated.

Ben stared. "It can't be..." He said hoarsely.

Jonesy looked at Maggie. "Are you going to have to go through this with everyone you see?" He asked her.

She nodded. "Probably." She smiled wryly. "But it's a small price to pay."

Jonesy nodded and turned to Jo. "Wanna come for a breather while Maggie's talking to Ben?" He asked softly.

She nodded. "Mmm." She got up and turned to where Susie was sitting watching Ben and Maggie. "Suz...Jonesy and I'll just be out the front, okay?" Susie nodded and waved them off. With a last glance at Ben, who was hugging Maggie like he'd never let her go, she followed Jonesy out the door.

"When we go back in I'm calling the Boss. I can't wait to see if he swears." Jonesy said after a minute of standing in silence.

Jo didn't even smile. "More likely he'll have a heart attack." She said with a faraway look on her face. Jonesy stared at her. "Huh?" She didn't answer. "Jo." He reached out and grabbed her arm, turning her to face him. "Are you alright?"

She nodded. "Fine." She tried to move away, but he held her still. "What?"

"What are you going to do?" He asked her.

"About what?" She said, staring away into the distance.

"About PJ and Maggie." Jonesy noticed the flicker of pain in her eyes as he spoke.

"Who says I'm going to do anything?" She said.

"You have the 'I'm determined' look on your face and you didn't tell Maggie about you and PJ. That makes me think that you have something up your sleeve."

A teardrop made it's way down her cheek. "Maybe I do." She said.

"I have this bad feeling that I know what it is and I want you to tell me that I'm wrong." He said staring at her.

She looked up at him, eyes shining wetly. "You're wrong." She said, and tried to pull away again.

"Very funny. You don't even know what I think you're going to do."

She rolled her eyes. "What do you think I'm going to do?" She asked.

"That you're gonna leave." She looked away. "I'm right aren't I?" He said, cupping her face. She didn't answer. "Jo, think about what you're doing. At least find out where you stand with PJ." He said.

"I already know where I stand." She said quietly.

"He loves you." Jonesy implored.

She nodded. "I know. But he loves her too."

"What can I say that will make you stay?" He said, despairing.

"Nothing." She sighed and leant against a post. "Bittersweet, isn't it?"

"What?" Jonesy frowned.

"Maggie coming back. I gain back a friend, but lose him."

Jonesy nodded. "Yeah, it is. But you don't have to lose him. You're throwing your entire career away on an uncertain ending, you do know that?"  
  
Jo sighed. "Its almost time for me to knock off. I'm gonna go write my resignation."

"When are you leaving?" Jonesy said, unhappily.

"Tonight." Jo said. "I'm going to drop my papers round to the Boss's house and then go."

Jonesy sighed. "Where are you going to go? Where are you going to work?"

"I don't know. I'll sort something out and I'll email you when I'm settled, okay?" Jo walked back inside. Half an hour later it was the end of her shift and she printed out her resignation. She placed it in an envelope and then sealed it. Standing up, she stretched, and then walked into the locker room, where she emptied her locker into her backpack and picked up her spare uniform and walked out the back way to her car. After dumping them unceremoniously on the backseat, and the envelope containing her resignation on the passenger seat, she walked back inside. Avoiding Jonesy's eyes, she walked over to Maggie, who was once again relating her story to Ben. "I'm going to swing by the Boss's and then I'm going home to get PJ." She said to Ben.

He looked up sharply. "Then what?"

"I'm gonna send them here." She said, now avoiding his eyes as well as Jonesy's.

Maggie stood. "Thanks, Jo. So we should just stay here?" Jo nodded, and leant over and kissed her cheek. "Good luck."

Maggie smiled tightly. "Thanks."

Ben stood up too, eyeing her sternly. "Jo..." He began.

She cut him off by kissing him quickly on his lips. "Bye Ben."

He stared. "You're not."

She frowned. "I'm not what?"

Ben looked at Maggie and then grabbed Jo and pulled her into PJ's office, calling out to Maggie that he'd be back in a minute. Maggie stared after her in surprise as Jonesy followed them in.

She looked at Susie, who simply shrugged. "Don't ask me." She said. "I have no idea."

"Jo...What are you doing?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"You can't go." The door opened and Jonesy stepped in. Ben paused.

"Don't worry mate, I've been trying to convince her not to go for the past half hour, but she doesn't seem to listen." Jonesy said, glaring at her. She shrugged and tears filled her eyes. Impatiently she wiped them away.

"Don't make this any harder than it already is." She said, almost begging. "It's the right thing to do."

Ben sighed. "I know as well as you how much he loved her. But he's over her. He loves you. Doesn't he get a say in this?"

Jo shook her head. "No. If only that were true." She sighed. "He's not over her. I know he loves me, but she was his _world_. I can't stay in the way of that, it wouldn't be fair."

Neither of the boys said anything and Jo smiled wryly. "See. You know I'm right." She walked over and kissed Ben again. "Explain to PJ for me?" She said, hugging him. He nodded and she moved over to Jonesy. "I'll write when I find somewhere." She said and then kissed him.

"Look after yourself." He said, holding her close. She pulled away and walked to the door.

"I'll miss you. All of you." They watched her walk through the door and she was gone.

The rest of that night was almost a blur to Jo. She remembered stopping off at the Boss's house, handing him her resignation and telling him that the reason for it was sitting at the station at that very moment. She remembered going home and telling PJ that he was needed down at the station because a missing person had turned up. She recalled kissing him goodbye without telling him it was goodbye, and then after he'd gone down to the station, she'd packed her things, leaving anything that was too big or that she didn't need. The only thing she left was a photo of her, Ben and PJ in front of the new house on her pillow. Then she'd got back into her car and got on the highway, turning up at her brother's house just in time to interrupt his boys' beer 'n' pizza night.

She'd stayed there for the next three days, ignoring all calls on her mobile phone and refusing to read the text messages. Cameron made a couple of calls and four days after that he'd set her up in Darwin with an apartment, a different car, and a job with a mate of his who owned an imports and exports business.

She liked her work. It was flexible and it allowed her time to relax, and as her new apartment was on the beach, get a tan. She swam a lot and her dark brown hair grew light brown and developed golden streaks from the sun. She was happy enough in Darwin. She missed her old life terribly, but she supposed that her new one wasn't all that bad.

She sent a letter to Jonesy, telling him that she was safe, she was happy and everything was okay. Her pregnancy didn't seem to bother her for some reason. She felt the same except that she had a large stomach.

Almost nine months later she'd gone into labor at work, and Kirk, her brother's mate had taken her to the hospital where Lena was born two hours later. She'd thrown herself back into exercising and had gone on a health kick as soon as she and Lena had got out of hospital. Now she was back to her old body size, and her tan, sun-streaked hair, and clear skin gave her a glow of health that she hadn't had before.

But she still felt that there was something missing...


	3. Chapter 3 and epilogue

  
  
**The Present Time**

Now she was back in the town she'd tried so hard to forget. She'd put off coming back for as long as possible, claiming that Lena and she were too tired to travel, but she'd never missed her dad's birthday in her life and she wasn't about to miss this years, so she'd found herself on a plane back home.

"How's my favorite niece? Huh?" Cameron baby-talked to Helena, who gurgled back happily, as Jo smiled at them.

"She's not happy. It's too hot. We're melting." Jo said, answering for her daughter.

"Too hot? You live in Darwin!" Cameron laughed.

Jo smiled. "I know, but I thought it was going to be cold down here so we rugged up."

Cameron rolled his eyes. "No wonder you're melting, you're wearing jeans. Go put on a skirt."

Jo nodded. "I will in a minute." She caught sight of her father. "Happy birthday, dad!" She said giving him a hug.

"Hi, Princess. Where's my granddaughter? I haven't seen her since she was born, Jo. You need to visit more often."

Jo smiled. "She's with Cam." She went back outside to grab her bags from the car, while her father turned to find Cameron. Coming back inside, she put the bags in the spare room, nearly running into her cousin on the way.

"Sorry, Tash. Didn't see you." She put the bags on the bed and kissed her cousin.

"It is okay. How are you? How is the baby?" Natasha Gendarme was one of the few French cousins that Jo had that could speak English.

"Lena's good. I'm good. Tired, but good. How about you?" Jo followed Tash out of the bedroom.

"I am good. But Bobbi is having trouble understanding everyone. Your mother has to translate." She said, referring to her little sister, Roberta.

"Mum's here?" Jo was surprised. "Where?"

Natasha shrugged. "I do not know if she is back yet. She went out this morning."

Jo nodded. "Fair enough. Where's your dad?" Jo's Uncle Timothy had married a French lady and Jo was sure that some of her eccentricity had rubbed off on to her uncle.

"He is asleep." Natasha said rolling her eyes.

Jo raised an eyebrow. "Why?" She asked.

"Because he had a bit too much to drink last night and attacked the mailbox across the road. Jeff took him to sleep it off. He threatened to call the police next time." Jo almost laughed. She could just see her uncle attacking a mailbox and PJ and Ben having to put him in the cells for the night.

_PJ_... She wondered how he was doing, and then mentally slapped herself. '_Not going there_.' She thought.

"I am about to go pick up the birthday cake, would you like to come?" Natasha asked as Jo walked over and picked up Lena from her father's lap. Jo was tempted, it was lunchtime and none of her ex-colleagues would be out in this heat.

"Um..." She sat down and rocked her baby. "She's almost due for a feed."

Natasha nodded and sat next to Jo. "Its okay. I will wait."

Jo nodded and positioned Lena, who fed quietly before falling asleep. She re- arranged her shirt, which now had baby dribble on it, and sighed. "I'm going to leave her with Cam, and I better change. I'll meet you out the front in five." She said to Tash, before walking away to find her brother.

Five minutes later, Jo walked out the front, feeling cooler now she'd changed into a denim skirt, tank top and thongs. They got into the car and headed into town.

"Which cake shop is it?" Jo asked.

"The one opposite the High school." Tash said. "I don't remember what it is called."

Jo nodded. "I know it." She said.

As Tash pulled up outside the bakery, she slid on her sunnies and followed her cousin into the shop.

"Yikes." Jonesy's voice brought Ben back to earth. "Check it out."

Ben wiped his brow and got into the patrol car, having stopped at the Milk bar near the high school for a drink. "Check what out?" He asked Jonesy, handing him a coke.

"...Her." Jonesy pointed as two women walked out of the bakery, both in short skirts. One of them was carrying a large box, which was blocking her face.

"Which one?" Ben squinted, watching as the woman who wasn't carrying the box opened the back door for the other one to put the box in.

"The one with the box. She has great legs." Jonesy said, leaning forward and trying to see her face, as she put the box in and stood up.

As Jo straightened from putting the cake into the back seat, she felt someone watching her. Turning, she spotted the patrol car. "Shit." She swore under her breath, as she recognized Ben and Jonesy watching her.

She turned and slid into the passenger's seat and shut the door, hoping that her sunglasses, tan and lighter hair would prevent them from realizing that it was her. As the car with the women in it pulled away, Jonesy turned to Ben in shock.

"Was that...?" He asked doubtfully.

Ben nodded, staring after the car. "That was Jo."

Jonesy poked him.

"What?" He asked.

"Are you gonna go pull her over or what?" Jonesy raised an eyebrow.

Ben grinned. "Why not." He started up the car and followed Jo, putting on the blue and red lights, but leaving the siren off.

Jo thought they were home free until she saw the lights reflecting in the side mirror. "Ah, Bugger it." She turned to Tash, who was looking at her curiously. "Pull over." Tash did, and Jo got out.

"Head home. I'll see you there later." Tash raised her eyebrows, but turned back onto the road and drove away.

Ten seconds later, Ben and Jonesy pulled up next to where she was standing with her arms crossed and her sunglasses hanging limply from her left hand.

"Should've figured I'd run into you two." Jo said, as they got out of the car and walked over to her.

"Wow." Jonesy stared at her.

Ben's reaction was similar to Jonesy's, but he was a bit more eloquent. "You look good." He said, smiling.

"That's the understatement of the year, mate." Jonesy was still staring.

Jo smiled wryly. "How bad was I before?" She asked him, and he reddened.

"You weren't bad at all before." He said, backtracking. "But now you're..." He stopped.

"Right." Jo raised an eyebrow, but let it go.

"When did you get back in town?" Ben asked.

"Today." She answered.

"Why?" Ben asked the question innocently but Jo understood.

"For Dad's birthday. Not for anything else." She said, putting her sunnies on her head. "Did you two want to charge me for anything? Because if not, you can give me a lift."

Ben looked at her. "How long are you here for?" He asked.

"Two more days." She answered.

Ben nodded. "Were you planning on dropping by?" He asked.

She shook her head. "No."

Ben nodded. "I see."

Jo shrugged. "I have a different life now, Ben. I'm trying to move on." Jonesy frowned. "Does that mean you weren't even going to find out how PJ is?"

Pain flashed in Jo's eyes. "How is he?" She asked softly.

"Shattered." Jonesy answered bluntly. "He couldn't believe that you left."

Jo winced. "But he and Maggie are okay now, right?" She was regretting ever leaving her Dad's house.

"No. PJ never started dating her again. She went back to England about a month after you took off."

Jo closed her eyes. She didn't want to hear any more. "Just take me to Dad's." She said, ending the conversation by walking over to the car.

Ben and Jonesy looked at each other and sighed. Ten minutes later, not another word had been spoken. Ben pulled up outside Jo's Dad's house and Jo got out.

"Bye." She said, shutting the door and walking over the lawn. The front door opened, and Cam came out with Lena on his hip.

"I wondered where you got to." He said, planting a kiss on her forehead. Then he noticed the Cop car still sitting in the driveway. "Is one of them PJ?" He said softly.

Jo shook her head. "No. Ben and Jonesy."

Cam motioned to where Ben and Jonesy had got out of the car. "Do they know about her?" He asked, bouncing Lena.

She shook her head again. "No. Take her inside."

Cam nodded. "I'll be back in a minute." He kissed her hair and went back inside.

"If he's not a relative of yours, then I'm gonna punch him." Jonesy said bluntly, walking over to her.

Jo sighed. "Still over protective?"

Jonesy just shrugged and cracked his knuckle.

She rolled her eyes. "He's my brother."

Jonesy nodded. "Good." He paused. "Jo, I didn't mean to upset you before. I just thought you should know about...what happened."

Jo nodded. "I know. But I'm not back for PJ. I'm back for Dad's birthday and then I'm going back to Darwin."

"Darwin?" Ben raised an eyebrow. "That's where you've been hiding?"

Jo sighed. "I'm not bloody hiding."

Cam came back outside and walked over to stand by Jo protectively. "Jonesy, Ben, this is my brother Cameron, Cam, Jonesy and Ben." Jo waved her hand tiredly between the three men.

Ben stuck out his hand and Cam shook it, and then Jonesy followed suit. "So I'm guessing that you're not going to come by the pub tonight then." Jonesy said after a minute of silence.

Jo shook her head. "No. I already told you. I had no intentions of seeing any of you. I just...wanna be with my family."

Jonesy looked dejected and glanced at Cameron. "We used to be your family." He said.

Jo winced. "You still are. You always will be, okay? But I'm only here for dad's birthday and then I'm leaving."

"So you weren't even going to let Ben or me know you were okay?" Jonesy was getting irritated.

She shrugged. "I only got here this morning. I don't know. I sent you a letter."

Jonesy glared at her. "Six months ago, Jo."

She shrugged again. "I've been busy."

Jonesy shook his head. "No, Ben's right. You've been hiding."

Jo glared at him, exasperated. "I'm not hiding. I'm here aren't I?"

Jonesy looked at her squarely. "You might be here, but you said yourself that you had no intention of coming to see us...or PJ."

Cameron looked at Jonesy. "She doesn't have to, mate. It's her choice."

Jonesy sighed. "Fine." He said. "You might be able to live without him, but he sure as hell cant live without you."

Jo's eyes filled with tears and she looked away, wiping her face angrily. "Who said I can live without him?" She asked, quietly.

Jonesy stared at her. "Well if you cant, then why the hell are you standing here?" He asked.

A baby's cry sounded from the house, and Jo turned towards the door automatically.

"No. I'll go." Cameron laid a restraining hand on Jo and went inside.

Jo sighed and turned back to Jonesy. "I want to see him, but there's...issues...that he wont be able to forgive me for." She said.

Ben shook his head. "I don't think you understand what Evan's saying, Jo." He said. "He's not the same without you. It's like now he's in his own little world where he just doesn't give a shit about anything. I know he needs you, and it's like he's lost his best friend."

Jo looked away, conflicting emotions playing on her face.

"Do you still love him, Jo?" Jonesy asked quietly.

"Is the Pope Catholic?" She asked back.

Both Jonesy and Ben smiled. "So come back with us." Ben implored.

Jo sighed. "It's not that simple." She said, closing her eyes.

"Why not? He's not going to reject you." Jonesy failed to see her problem.

"He might when he finds out about Lena." Jo reopened her eyes.

"Who's Lena?" Both boys said at once.

She sighed. So much for keeping her secret. "Stay here. I'll be back in a sec."

Jo disappeared inside for a minute and then reappeared carrying her baby.

"Is it yours?" Jonesy stared at her in disbelief.

Jo nodded. "Her name is Helena. Lena for short."

Ben blinked. "Is she PJ's?" He asked.

Jo frowned. "Who else's would she be?"

Ben nodded. "Just checking." He said.

Jo's eyes softened as she looked at her daughter. "He didn't know I was pregnant. I only found out the night before Maggie showed up."

"Wait, wait, wait. You knew you were pregnant before you left?" Jonesy was incredulous.

Jo nodded. "That's what I meant about issues."

Ben sighed. "You can work it out if you try."

Jo shook her head. "I can cope with him rejecting me, but if he rejects her...I just couldn't face that."

"Jo. You two could be happy again. You could be together as a family. Isn't that worth the risk?" Ben asked her.

Jo sighed. "I don't know."

Ben cocked his head to one side. "You ignored our advice last time, and see where that got you. At least try."

Jo hugged Lena to her, and was silent for ten seconds. "Fine. I'll come down to the station. But I'm leaving her here."

Jonesy looked skeptically at her. "You will tell him about her?" He said.

She nodded. "Yeah." She switched Lena hips. "What time is it?" Jonesy glanced at his watch.

"Three."

"If I feed her now I can put her to sleep within the next hour and she wont wake up until around sixish." Jo glanced down at her.

Ben nodded. "We can't wait an hour. Promise us you'll come."

Jo nodded slowly. "I will. Give me an hour and a half."

Ben nodded again. "Okay." He leant over and kissed the baby's head, and then kissed Jo's cheek. "See you at four thirty." He walked over to the car.

Jonesy stepped forward and kissed Jo's mouth, before kissing the baby's head and following Ben.

"I hope you know what you're doing." Jonesy said as they pulled out.

Ben nodded. "I hope so too."

"She's gonna run again, you do know that." Jonesy looked sideways at Ben.

Ben shook his head. "No. She wont."

Jonesy raised his eyebrows. "Why not?"

"Two reasons. One, we know about Lena, and Two, she obviously still loves him."

Jonesy nodded. "I hope you're right. By the looks of things, they still need each other."

Ben nodded. "They always have." An hour and a half later, both Ben and Jonesy were alternately watching the clock tick past and the door to the station remain closed.

Five minutes passed, and then ten. Finally, at ten to five, Jonesy stood up.

"Relax." Ben shot him a warning glance as both Susie and Alanna, the girl who had replaced Jo, looked up curiously. "Give it five more minutes."

He said quietly. Jonesy nodded and sat back down. Alanna Mitchell was the new senior constable and was extremely bossy and curious, as well as being annoying. None of the boys could stand her.

Five minutes later, Ben stood up just as the station door opened and Jo walked in. "Sorry I'm late." She said, smiling bravely.

Ben and Jonesy grinned. "You can tell us later." Jonesy said, opening the counter for her and walking her through.

Susie stared. "My god, Jo. I almost didn't recognize you."

Jo laughed. "Yeah, the boys already told me that I look different."

Susie smiled. "Are...Are you here to see PJ?" She asked hopefully.

Jo nodded. "Yeah."

"Go on then." Ben gave her a nudge. Jo took a deep breath and walked over to PJ's office door. She knocked lightly and her heart skipped a beat when she heard his voice.

"Yeah."

She turned and smiled at the rest of the station and then opened the door and stepped inside.

PJ stared as Jo walked through his office door. He thought he was seeing a ghost for a second, but when Jo walked tentatively over to his desk, he knew she was real.

"Jo." He said, blinking.

She looked at him nervously. "Hey."

"You came back." He said, motionless apart from his eyes, which were roaming over her face.

"Yeah." She fidgeted with her nails.

"Why?" He stood up.

"It's Dad's birthday." She said apprehensively.

He nodded. "Why are you here?" He asked.

She paused, not knowing what to say. "Because Ben and Jonesy convinced me that you and I had some issues to sort out." She said looking away. "And because I wanted to see you." She looked back.

He walked around his desk to face her. "What issues do we have other than the fact that you left without telling me." He said ominously.

She sighed. "I didn't exactly want to leave. I just...panicked when I realized that Maggie was back." She said, haltingly. He just looked at her.

She sighed again. "I didn't expect you to welcome me with open arms, PJ, but the least you could do is try to understand where I'm coming from. If one of my ex's who I was madly in love with came back from the dead to be with me, how would you have felt?"

PJ settled his gaze into her eyes. "I understand how you felt, Jo. But did you really think that I would choose to be with her over you?"

Jo chuckled harshly. "How could I possibly think that you'd choose me over her? How long did I have to wait before you were over her enough to admit that you loved me?" She looked away.

PJ sighed. "But that's the entire point, Jo. I was over her."

Jo looked back up at him. "I loved Maggie, Jo. I'm not denying that. But I was _**in**_ love with **_you_**. I still am." He admitted.

Tears spilt over onto her cheeks. "I'm sorry I left." She wiped her eyes. "I'm still in love with you too. But there's something I need to tell you."  
  
PJ frowned. "Okay."

"When I left, I was pregnant." Jo looked up at him.

PJ stared. "And?" He asked.

"We have a daughter." Her heart skipped a beat as he stared at her in shock.

"We do?" He shook his head, trying to clear it.

She nodded. "Her name is Helena."

PJ let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "You named her after my mother?" He asked amazed.

She nodded. "We call her Lena for short."

"My dad used to call my mum that." PJ smiled down at her, reminiscing about his parents.

She smiled back up at him. "How old is she?" He asked.

"Nearly three months." She answered.

"Where is she?" He asked, running his hand down her cheek.

"At my dad's. With my brother."

He nodded. "Could...could we go see her?" He asked haltingly.

She nodded. "Sure."

"I missed you." He said, before leaning down and kissing her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. "I missed you too."

_(AN: I was gonna stop it there, but then decided to put on an epilogue... So enjoy.)_

__

"They've been in there for half an hour." Jonesy said, sitting on his desk.

Ben smiled. "That's probably a good thing." He said.

Tom walked in the front door of the station, having been at St. Davids for the past hour sorting out paperwork with Inspector Falcon-Price. "Time to knock off, people." He said walking towards PJ's office.

"I wouldn't go in there if I was you, Boss." Ben said, as he reached the office door.

Tom paused. "Why not? What's the matter?"

"Jo's in there with him." Jonesy said grinning.

"Parrish?" He said breaking into a smile. "She's back then?"

Jonesy shrugged. "Hopefully. They've been in there for half an hour already."

Alanna looked up. "She's the one I replaced, right? The one who broke his heart?" She said.

Tom sighed. "Yes, you replaced her."

Alanna looked annoyed, and turned to Jonesy. "So why didn't you tell me she was his ex-girlfriend?" She asked him.

Jonesy shrugged. "I didn't think it was any of your business." He said.

PJ's office door opened and he and Jo emerged holding hands.

"Its good to see you, Parrish." Tom said smiling.

Jo smiled at him, her eyes shining. "Its good to be back, Boss."

Tom crossed his arms. "So are you back for good?" He asked.

Jo looked up at PJ smiling, and then back at Tom. "Yeah. I think so."

"Good. I was wondering how much longer I could keep you on unpaid leave without the inspector getting shirty." He said.

Jo stared at him. "Are you kidding me? You kept me on leave? So I'm still in the force?" She said excitedly.

Tom nodded. "Yes. I was hoping you two would sort out your differences." Jo threw her arms around him.

"Thanks, Boss." She stepped back and turned to PJ. "Do you want to go now?" She asked.

He nodded. "Yeah."

"Where are you going?" Alanna asked, standing up.

"To meet my daughter." PJ said, taking Jo's hand and leading her out of the station.

"Daughter?" Tom turned to Ben and Jonesy, who were smiling.

"Yeah. It's a long story." Jonesy said. "Who wants a beer?"

Tom nodded. "I think I need one."

PJ tentatively followed Jo into her father's house. He couldn't quite believe that he was here, standing with the woman he thought he'd lost, about to meet his daughter. He glanced around, but the house seemed empty, although he could hear noise and music from the backyard.

Jo smiled back at him and reached back to squeeze his hand. "It's okay. They're all outside eating off the BBQ." She said, sensing his discomfort.

He nodded. "This is so surreal. I thought that I was in a dream when I saw Maggie, but this..." He said, trailing off. Jo looked at him curiously.

"What did happen when you saw Maggie?" She asked curiously.

He smiled. "Not much. As soon as I realized that you knew she was there I took off home." They stopped outside a bedroom door.

"And?..." Jo prompted.

"When I realized you'd gone I went back to the station and told Maggie that I was sorry but I had to find you and that I'd catch up with her later. But I didn't find you. And Maggie realized that she and I were over a long time ago."

Jo leant over and kissed him. "I'm sorry I left." She said.

"Me too. Dont ever do it again."

She smiled. "You ready?" She motioned to the door and he nodded.

"Yeah." She opened the door and they walked over to the crib. "Hi, Precious." She said and leant over the crib, noting that it was past 6 o'clock and that it was time for a feed.

She looked over at PJ who was standing, staring into the crib with a look upon his face that was a mix between terrified, and amazed. He looked up at her, and then back at his sleeping daughter.

"What do you think?" Jo tried to disguise her nervousness.

"She's perfect. She looks just like you." PJ was awestruck.

Jo smiled. "You think?"

PJ nodded and gestured at the crib. "May I?" He asked.

She nodded, a lump forming in her throat as she watched him pick up his daughter for the first time. "She has your eyes." Jo said quietly. He looked down at the baby cradled in his arms and watched in deep wonder as her big, dark-lashed blue eyes opened and then blinked, focusing on him. The trust that he saw in his daughter's blue eyes, so similar to his own, was reflected in Jo's green ones when he looked up.

"Will you marry me?" He said softly, looking at her.

She stared at him, tears forming in her eyes. "Yes."

He slipped an arm around her waist. "I love you._Only_ you."

She smiled contentedly, laying her head upon his shoulder. "I know."  
  
An hour later, Jo looked at PJ bounce Lena on his knee. "Lets go down to the pub. I need to thank Ben and Jonesy." She said.

He nodded. "Remind me to thank them too."

Jo leant over and took Lena from PJ. "Come on bub. Lets go meet your uncles."

PJ grinned. "Uncle Ben and Uncle Evan. And Uncle Tom." He said.

Jo smiled back at him. "Which one's going to be her godfather?" She asked.

PJ frowned. "Well, they can flip for it, and whoever loses has to wait until next time."

Jo raised an eyebrow. "Next time? You mean you want more?"

PJ grinned. "If you can handle it."

Jo rolled her eyes. "Sure." She smiled up at him, love shining in her eyes, and silently thanked god for giving her a second chance to put her past behind her and make something of her future.  
  
Finis.  
  
FEEDBACK IS GREATLY APPRECIATED 

xoxox Chimera xoxox


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